Rankings by state for ID theft complaints
Rank — Complaints per 100,000 people — Total complaints
1. Florida — 179 — 33,595
2. Georgia — 120 — 11,625
3. California — 104 — 38,607
4. Arizona — 99 — 6,296
5. Texas — 96 — 24,162
6. New York — 92 — 17,880
7. Nevada — 90 — 2,427
8. New Jersey — 86 — 7,599
9. Maryland — 86 — 4,980
10. Delaware — 84 — 750
Source: Federal Trade Commission’s Consumer Sentinel Network
Top for ID theft complaints*
Area — Complaints — Complaints per 100,000 people
1. Miami** — 17,546 — 324
2. Montgomery, Ala. — 617 — 169
3. Greeley, Colo. — 403 — 165
4. Columbus, Ga. — 463 — 164
5. Dunn, N.C. — 177 — 163
6. Port St. Lucie, Fla. — 642 — 161
7. Tampa-St. Petersburg, Fla. — 4,255 — 156
8. Madera, Calif. — 223 — 152
9. Savannah, Ga. — 492 — 149
10. Albany, Ga. — 245 — 149
11. Atlanta — 7,787 — 148
* Federal Trade Commission’s Consumer Sentinel Network
** All cities are metropolitan statistical areas.
ID theft in Georgia
Identity theft type — # of cases — Percentage
1. Government documents or benefits fraud — 5,311 — 46%
2. Credit card fraud — 1,163 — 10%
3. Phone or utilities fraud — 1,143 — 10%
4. Bank fraud — 803 — 7%
5. Employment-related fraud — 561 — 5%
6. Loan fraud — 325 — 3%
Other — 2,245 — 19%
Source: Federal Trade Commission’s Consumer Sentinel Network
Identity theft across U.S.*
- Government documents/benefits fraud (27 percent) was the most common form of reported identity theft, followed by credit card fraud (14 percent), phone or utilities fraud (13 percent) and bank fraud (9 percent). Other significant categories of identity theft reported by victims were employment fraud (8 percent) and loan fraud (3 percent).
- Complaints about government documents/benefits fraud increased 11 percentage points since calendar year 2009; identity theft-related credit card fraud complaints, on the other hand, declined 3 percentage points since calendar year 2009.
- Forty-five percent of identity theft complainants reported whether they contacted law enforcement. Of those victims, 70 percent notified a police department. Fifty-seven percent indicated a report was taken.
- Florida is the state with the highest per capita rate of reported identity theft complaints, followed by Georgia and California.
* Federal Trade Commission’s Consumer Sentinel Network 2011 Report